YouSaid · the spoken record

Silvan Shalom,

lines on the record: 46
first: 2003-09-24
most recent: 2005-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“It was the wisest leader of ancient Israel, King Solomon, who wrote, in the book of Ecclesiastes, "For everything there is a season: a time to weep and a time to laugh; ... a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace." This is a time for peace. A time for the leaders of the world to work together to bring the blessings of opportunity, peace and prosperity to all humanity. As the Jewish New Year dawns upon us, I extend on behalf of the Jewish people greetings of peace and brotherhood to our Muslim and Arab neighbours and to all nations.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The United Nations was born of the noble vision to bring the ideals of peace, security and human rights to all peoples. Sadly, reality of the United Nations remains far removed from the United Nations ideal. Major reform is urgent and crucial. Israel joins our fellow Member States and their peoples in the desire to see the United Nations fulfil the vision of its founders; to see the United Nations serving as a force for good in meeting the many challenges of our age. Israel seeks to take its rightful place as a country with full and equal rights in this institution. We seek to realize our full potential to contribute to the global agenda. This is why I have decided to present for the first time Israel's candidacy for membership on the Security Council.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The special session to commemorate the Holocaust is only one example, of the welcome shift in the attitude of this institution towards Israel. Our recent election as Vice-President of this Assembly is another. I wish to commend the Secretary-General for his unique contribution to this positive trend. Israel's relations with the United Nations are better today than they have ever been. Nevertheless, they are still far from what they should be. I call on all the States gathered here to examine how they too can contribute to promoting a more balanced and constructive United Nations approach to Israel. The United Nations cannot be true to its own lofty and universal principles, if it continues to waste scarce resources and serve as a forum of hostility and prejudice against one of its own.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We commend the Secretary-General's and this Assembly's recognition that Holocaust remembrance must be a universal commitment. Ultimately, it is only the determined defence of the universal values of tolerance and the sanctity of each human life that will protect us from tyranny and extremism. In this spirit, Israel calls on the General Assembly to adopt a resolution initiated by Israel and other like-minded countries commemorating the Holocaust and calling for global educational efforts to ensure that its lessons are learnt. Especially today, the day the world's greatest Nazi-hunter, Simon Wiesenthal, has passed away, we are reminded that the Holocaust is passing from human memory to history. As the generation of survivors leaves us, who will tell their story, if not us?”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“I call on them to stop this evil regime from acquiring nuclear weapons. The security and stability of the entire globe is at stake. This is why it is essential and urgent that the Security Council take action. The international community must rally as one and use all the means at its disposal to stop Iran before it goes nuclear. We must not allow the fate of mankind to rest in the hands of the tyrants of Tehran. In January of this year, this Assembly convened in special session to commemorate the Holocaust and pay tribute to the brave soldiers and nations who freed European Jewry and the world from the calamity of that darkest nightmare. Israel commends the community of nations for standing up in unison on this anniversary in commitment to the cry "never again".”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“If Gaza is indeed to be the positive model we all wish to see, then it is those who promote dialogue, not violence, who must be empowered. The central threat to global security and to renewed momentum towards dialogue and peace in the Middle East today is Iran and its nuclear ambitions. As the speech before this Assembly by the newly elected president of Iran so clearly demonstrated, Iran's fanatic regime remains determined to proceed with its nuclear weapons programme. Israel welcomes the efforts of the international community - in particular France, Britain and Germany, backed by the United States - to deny Iran the ability to terrorize the world with nuclear weapons. The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency is meeting at this very moment in Vienna to discuss this urgent matter.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Two days ago in Gaza, the terrorist organization Hamas held a rally of 10,000 armed men dedicated to a holy war against Israel. Like Al-Qaida and the other organizations in the global network of terror, Hamas seeks to destroy everything that the international community and the moderates in our region seek to build: tolerance, democracy and peace. Hamas is responsible for the deliberate murder of hundreds of Israeli civilians, amongst them scores of women and children. Israel cannot and will not grant legitimacy to such an organization. We will not cooperate with its desire to participate in the forthcoming Palestinian elections. And we call on the international community to make clear its own opposition to the inclusion of such terrorists in the democratic process.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The international community's priority now must be ensuring that the Palestinian Authority and its institutions can deliver the services and outcomes their people and ours expect and deserve. Economic reconstruction, of course, is not enough. The Palestinian Authority must also deliver on its commitment to end the campaign of terror against Israel. For Israel, security is an issue on which we will never compromise. We insist on the end of terror and the dismantlement of its infrastructure, for the safety of our citizens, and so that our peace efforts can succeed. Turning Gaza into a model of success requires that the Palestinian Authority act to promote and protect democracy from its enemies. Here, as with security, there is no room for discounts. Simply holding elections is no guarantee of moderation and responsible government.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Gaza, we hope, will serve as a model for how the Palestinian Authority can build a functioning, democratic and peaceful society. Recognizing the significance of this moment, Israel is taking great pains to ensure that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is given every opportunity to establish his authority. We want to promote conditions that will benefit ordinary Palestinians, without posing a security threat to Israel. Israel has expressed its strong support for international aid and assistance for the social and economic development of Gaza, and we are committed to facilitating those efforts. Constructive international engagement is crucial to the Palestinian Authority's success.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Israel's actions have opened the door to a new future, and we invite our neighbours to walk with us together through that door. We are committed to the road map, and we wish to get back to its full implementation. To do that, we need a partner. A partner who is committed, as we are, to the peaceful resolution of our differences, and to the democratic and universal principles on which peace is founded. Israel attaches great importance to the Palestinian assumption of responsibility. In it lies the key to progress towards peace. The transfer of responsibility for Gaza provides the Palestinian side with the chance to take their fate into their own hands; an opportunity not just to say that they want to govern, but to show that they are ready and able to do so.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“I call upon the international community and my Arab and Muslim counterparts to work together with us to ensure that those meetings result in concrete projects that will help reinforce our peace efforts on the ground. This is also the time for the international community to renew its investment in the future of the Middle East by reviving the multilateral track of the Middle East peace talks. Just one week ago, Israel completed the evacuation of all Israeli communities in the Gaza Strip. Entire families - many of whom had lived and tilled those lands for three generations - were called upon by their Government to leave and to begin their lives anew. Today, there are no more Israelis in Gaza. Israeli military rule is now over. Responsibility for the affairs of Gaza and its residents is now in Palestinian hands.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Today, I call on my Arab and Muslim colleagues to bring our contacts out into the light of day, so that our peoples may understand our 8 shared desire to work with each other to bring peace and prosperity to our region. I call on the leaders of the Arab and Muslim world, to join us in speaking to our populations of peace rather than conflict, of reasons to cooperate, rather than reasons to boycott. In November of this year, I will sit alongside my Arab and Muslim colleagues at two international gatherings: the World Summit on the Information Society, in Tunisia; and the summit of the Euro- Mediterranean Partnership, in Barcelona.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Indeed, those who genuinely wish to help the Palestinians and to bring them the benefits of peace and prosperity must realize that building contacts and cooperation with Israel is a crucial element in that process. Possibilities for cooperation abound. In fields as diverse as agriculture, health, the environment, transportation and electricity, the potential benefits of Middle East regional cooperation are immense. Such cooperation can bring tangible and immediate economic benefits, as Israel's improving relations with Jordan and Egypt have shown. Unfortunately, many of our ties with the Arab and Muslim world are still deep in the shadows, hidden from the public eye.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Here in New York this week, I have had the honour of meeting with more than 10 of my colleagues from the Arab and Muslim world - a number unthinkable just two years ago. Those meetings have been friendly, as is only fitting for countries that are not in conflict - either territorially, or economically. Israel welcomes this new readiness for contact, and we encourage our neighbours to build on the foundations that we are now laying. Contacts between Israel and its Arab and Muslim neighbours are good for the region, and good for peace. We all share a common interest in building a region of tolerance and cooperation - a region where the moderates have the initiative, not the extremists, whose violence has set the agenda for so long.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“It is my unique pleasure to praise His Excellency Ambassador Dan Gillerman, my emissary to the United Nations, who is in the Chair at present, upon his election to the post of Vice-President at this session of the General Assembly, and to wish him much success. These are optimistic times in the Middle East. The iron wall that has defined Israel's relations with most of the Arab and Muslim world for generations, is coming down. Israel's contacts with Arab and Muslim States are growing at a rate never seen before. Countries like Pakistan and others that in the past refused to acknowledge our shared humanity, today extend their hands in friendship and recognition. Relations with key Muslim States, such as Turkey, are flourishing, while our peaceful ties with both Egypt and Jordan are constantly improving.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“I will pray that our collective aspiration for life and freedom will prevail over the terrorists and those who sponsor them. I will pray that God will deliver peace on earth, for all humanity. And I will pray that mankind can unite — through the 21 United Nations — to help make this dream become a reality. And I would like to say in Hebrew, Happy New Year.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“I call on the Assembly to acknowledge this truth and to reject the continued Palestinian effort to have delegations address Israel’s response to terrorism, instead of addressing the terrorism itself. Ultimately, we need real contact and dialogue, based on mutual respect for the humanity of the other if we are to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. The Government of Israel is ready for such contact. We are ready to talk to any leadership — from Syria, Lebanon or the Palestinians — that comes to the table without terror and with the genuine intention of finding mutually acceptable solutions to our differences. Tomorrow, Yom Kippur, is a day of prayer, fasting and soul-searching for the Jews. In Beersheva, in a synagogue named after my father, I will be praying together with those who have recently buried their murdered children.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“No other country would act otherwise after 20, let alone 20,000, terrorist attacks. The fence does not take lives. It saves them. Where there is a fence, there is no terror. Where there is no fence, there is terror. The modified route of the fence reflects the necessary balance between the security of our citizens and the welfare of the Palestinian population, as called for by Israel’s Supreme Court. Most important, the fence is reversible. The lives taken by terror are irreversible. By helping take terrorism out of the equation, the fence contributes to the prospect of a return to negotiations and the realization of the road map’s vision of peace.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Israel is acting in both the diplomatic and the security arenas to deal with the consequences of this chronic failure of the Palestinian leadership. On the diplomatic front, Israel accepted the road map in May 2003, and we remain committed to its realization. At this time, however, we have no responsible Palestinian partner ready to join us in this effort. Israel is now planning to implement the disengagement plan as a means of enhancing security and establishing a new, more promising platform for a return to negotiations. We are in constant contact with the donor community and the World Bank in a joint effort to rebuild Gaza in the wake of Israel’s withdrawal. On the security front, Israel is building a security fence to stop the unchecked wave of Palestinian attacks. After 20,000 terrorist attacks, we deserve to protect our people.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The Palestinian side spends more energy fighting Israel here at the United Nations than it does fighting the terrorists in its own territory. In the post-11-September world, this is not acceptable. The Palestinians are not exempt from the imperatives of the global war on terror. On the contrary, it is in their clear interest to join it. To stand up against Hamas and Islamic Jihad is to stand up for Palestinian rights, not against them. We urge the international community to recognize this reality and help the voices of reform and moderation within Palestinian society to emerge. The future of the Palestinian people will be determined by the choices that the Palestinians and their leadership make on the ground. The solutions — for the Palestinians and Israelis as one — lie in Gaza and Ramallah, not in The Hague or New York.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“No Israeli mother is free of the fear that her child may be lost. No Israeli child is immune to the terrorists’ plans. In the name of God above and all humanity here on Earth, this killing must stop. Palestinian terrorism is the key reason that the dream of peace in the Middle East has not yet become a reality. Combating this terror is crucial to the prospects for peace in our region. No peace initiative can survive if terrorists continue to enjoy a free hand to undermine it. The road map recognizes this, calling, in phase one, for sustained Palestinian action against terror, the dismantling of terrorist organizations and the end of incitement in schools and the media. Sadly, the current Palestinian leadership has refused to fulfil those fundamental obligations, preferring to blame Israel for all its failures.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Hamas, which operates freely from Palestinian territory and receives support and safe haven from the regimes in Damascus and Tehran, proudly claimed responsibility for that horrific attack. 20 Again yesterday, as I was meeting with the Secretary-General to discuss peace in the Middle East, I was passed a note informing me of a suicide atrocity, in which two more Israelis were blown to pieces by a Palestinian terrorist. And this morning, once again, yet more Palestinian murderers took the lives of three young Israelis in an attack on Morag. In the last year alone, 150 Israelis have been killed and thousands more injured in more than 40 separate suicide bombings and other cold-blooded attacks. More than 200 additional suicide-bombing attempts were blocked by our defensive measures.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“There are no mitigating circumstances. Declarations and condemnations are very important, but they are not enough. Every nation, every Government, every leader has the responsibility to act. Those who choose instead to support and sponsor terror must be isolated and held to account for their crimes. When I speak of terror and its dangers to life and freedom, I speak from bitter personal experience. My own home town of Beersheva suffered a double suicide bombing just three weeks ago. Sixteen innocent people were killed when their commuter buses were blown up. In the middle of an important meeting with visiting officials, I rushed to call my mother and brother to check that they were alive.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“There can be no place in the community of nations for those who promote the killing of children. I call on the Assembly to promote practical measures to help nations cut off all financial and political lifelines of terror. I call on the Assembly to address the growth of anti-Semitism and other forms of racism and intolerance. I urge you, Mr. President, and the Secretary-General, to convene a special session of the Assembly on that crucial matter. We all share the responsibility to educate our children to understanding and tolerance rather than to hatred and incitement. We must build a united and global coalition to fight terrorism, racism and anti-Semitism. We must build a united front against the cold-blooded murderers of our children. In that battle, there is no middle ground. There is no room for explanations or excuses.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“In that spirit of unity, and in the name of all those in the world who suffer from terror and tyranny, I call on the Assembly to refocus its aspirations and its priorities. I call on the Assembly to end its obsession with Israel and to ensure that United Nations resources are allocated more equally and more effectively. Our United Nations must provide solutions to the global challenges of hunger and poverty, of disease and weapons proliferation, of drug trafficking and sustainable development. We must not let the Palestinian desire to vilify Israel distract our global community from the obligation to address the needs of all peoples. I call on the Assembly to address head-on the active involvement of Iran and Syria in terrorism and Syria’s continued occupation of Lebanon.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The international community now also realizes, as reflected in Security Council resolution 1559 (2004), that Syria’s occupation of Lebanon and its support for Palestinian terror must end if our collective aspirations are to be fulfilled. And the international community now realizes that terror and tyranny are the twin enemies of the individual freedoms and human rights — including the right to life itself — which define our humanity. Today, the community of nations knows that securing freedom and democracy for all the peoples of the world must be our collective goal. The pictures of human flesh torn apart by the terrorists, from New York to Beslan — and just yesterday, once again, in Jerusalem — are waking us up to the challenge we face.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Today, however, our community of nations is more united than ever in the battle against terrorism, whose sole objective is to undermine everything that we seek to build: peace, stability, prosperity and opportunity for all. Today we are also more united than ever in opposition to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The international community now realizes that Iran — with missiles that can reach London, Paris, Berlin and southern Russia — poses a threat not only to the security of Israel, but to the security and stability of the whole world. Indeed, Iran has replaced Saddam Hussein as the world’s number-one exporter of terror, hate and instability.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“It is an appropriate time for all 19 nations, separately and together, to engage in such an accounting. I sense a change in the world. In the face of the global campaign of terror which has left no country free of its devastating impact, the world is beginning to realize what we in Israel have long known: that terrorism is a challenge to humanity as a whole, not just to individual countries; that the response to that global threat must also be global if it is to be effective; that the threat of terrorism anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere; that fighting terror is crucial to our ability to bring peace. There was a time when the problems of terror, Islamic fundamentalism and Iranian nuclear ambition were seen as local problems — Israel’s problems — not challenges which threatened the community of nations as a whole.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“I would like to congratulate you, Sir, the Foreign Minister of Gabon, upon your assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly and to wish you much success. The United Nations was established out of the devastation of the Second World War in order to build a world of unity and of peace. Today, 60 years after the Organization came into being, we must ask ourselves: What are we united for and what are we united against? Are we united for peace and security? Are we united for fairness and justice? Are we united against terror? Are we united against tyranny? Or are we, sadly, united only in cynical and immoral majority votes that make a mockery of the noble ideals on which this body was founded? Tomorrow is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, when all Jews stand before God to account for their actions.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“According to our tradition, this is a time when God determines the fate of each and every individual for the coming year. These are days of reflection and prayer. May all our prayers for peace and for life be answered, and may the actions and deeds of all the States and peoples represented here in this Hall bring to mankind peace and all the blessings that life can offer.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“This was true when President 30 Anwar Sadat of Egypt came to Jerusalem in 1977 and it was true when King Hussein of Jordan signed the Peace Treaty with us in 1994. The same is true today. Israel stands ready to complete the circle of peace with all its neighbours — real peace, not just peace for the headlines, but peace which brings an end to violence and hostility and positive change for the citizens of our region. From this great rostrum — a rostrum shared by all humanity — I call on the leaders of Syria and Lebanon, of Iran and of the Palestinian people to abandon once and for all their hostility towards us and to join us in building a better future for our children. This evening, I shall return to Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, to join with them in celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“I stand here today to reaffirm, before the nations of the world, the commitment of my country to peace. Peace for the people of Israel is both a moral and historic imperative. “Shalom” — the word for peace in Hebrew — is central to our language and our heritage. It is how we say “hello” and it is how we say “goodbye”. It is a name we give to our children. It is my own family name. It was our prophet Isaiah, who brought this message of peace to the world centuries ago, when he said: “And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation, neither shall they learn war any more”. Israel’s historic record is clear. Whenever a true partner for peace has emerged, he has been met with Israel’s extended hand.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The Zionist vision of Israel’s founders was to bring into the world a State in our ancient homeland to serve as a haven from persecution for our people, a place where the Jewish people could fulfil its right to self-determination in the modern era and a bastion of democracy and opportunity for all its citizens. Our founders also made a promise not just to the people of Israel, but also to the people of the Middle East as a whole — to pursue peace and to work for the common advancement of our region. I know personally the profound meaning of this historic undertaking. I came to Israel as a young refugee from Tunisia. I serve as one of hundreds of thousands of immigrants to whom Israel has granted promise and protection, freedom and opportunity, through the values and institutions of democracy.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In the 55 years since the State of Israel was established, recognized and welcomed into the family of nations, our achievements in the fields of science and technology, the arts and literature and agriculture and medicine have come to rank with the best in the world. Our international cooperation programme is celebrated in over a hundred countries around the globe, sharing skills, experience and knowledge for the benefit of millions of people. We extend this hand of friendship to all the nations of the world. We welcome our improving relations with Europe, just as we remain committed to promoting closer ties with the nations of Africa, Asia and the Americas.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“On the morning of 1 February of this year, Israel lost its first astronaut in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster — a skilled and courageous pilot whom I knew personally, a child of Holocaust survivors, a national hero. Colonel Ilan Ramon embodied the spirit of our nation. He was a man of courage and action, dedicated to the well-being of his people. Just as he sought to contribute to the advancement of his fellow man, he met his death, together with colleagues from the United States and India, on a scientific mission in the name of humanity as a whole. Israel’s place in such endeavours of international cooperation and accomplishment is no coincidence.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“No other country has suffered such unjustified attack and consistent discrimination within the United Nations system. The time has come to end this campaign of diplomatic incitement. For the sake of Israelis and Palestinians — for the sake of the United Nations and peace itself — I call on this body to rise above the tired politics of yesterday, and adopt a new, courageous agenda for tomorrow. I call on the General Assembly to abandon the automatic adoption of anti-Israel resolutions and to find ways of making itself relevant once again to the interests of the people it claims to serve. I call on this Assembly to fulfil its historic mission and help promote what unites us, not what divides us.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In the past, the United Nations has shown us that it can play a positive role. This Assembly was key to the founding of the State of Israel, 55 years ago. Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) are our guideposts to negotiations and peace. To play such a constructive role in the future, the United Nations must reform. It must move away from the partisan hostility that has taken over its Middle East agenda. For more than three decades, this Assembly has passed every year a litany of resolutions designed to discredit Israel, challenge its interests, and promote the will of its greatest enemies. In my hand I am holding a collection of the decisions of the fifty-seventh General Assembly on the Middle East — 175 pages filled not with hope, but with the negative agendas of the past.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Concrete expressions of cooperation and exchange must be built in media and government, education, science and business, to reinforce the message of tolerance and acceptance. For the sake of our collective future, voices of moderation must be heard. For the sake of our collective future, Israel and the Arab nations must learn to live together side by side, to overcome our conflicts just as the nations of Europe have learned to overcome theirs. Israel is living among its Arab neighbours. We 29 believe in a common future of peace and prosperity with them. My many meetings with Arab leaders over the last few days have encouraged me to believe that together we can make our region a better place. This culture of peace must permeate not only the borders of the Middle East, it must permeate the walls of the United Nations as well.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“For this to happen, the Palestinian leadership must take the moral and strategic decision to abandon terrorism once and for all, and make peacemaking possible. They must guide their people to build their own society, rather than seek to destroy ours. They, too, must understand that it is not poverty that breeds terror but terror that breeds poverty. We cannot stop only at dismantling the infrastructure of terror. We must also build an infrastructure of peace. It is up to political and moral leaders everywhere to foster an environment which rejects extremism and empowers the peacemakers. This is particularly so in the Arab and Muslim world, where incitement against Israel closes hearts and minds to the possibility of peace. Leaders must guide their people away from the culture of hate, and replace it with a culture of tolerance.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Instead of rallying around Arafat, the international community must rally around the genuine interests of the Palestinian people. They must do so now, before he leads them even further down the path of terror and destruction. When a responsible and empowered Palestinian leadership finally emerges — a leadership ready to join the war on terror — it will find us a willing partner for peace. Israel is committed to the vision for Middle East peace laid out by United States President George Bush on 24 June 2002. Israel will not compromise on the safety of its citizens, but we will go the extra mile, as we have proven before, to bring peace and security to both our peoples. We are ready to work with the Palestinians and with the international community to make this vision a reality.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In relative numbers, this would be the same as 11,000 French or 56,000 Americans dying from terrorism in the same period of time. This carnage must stop. Its impact on both societies is devastating. Yasser Arafat bears direct responsibility for this terrible suffering. He has led his people along the path of terror — from hijackings to suicide bombings — for more than 30 years, always preferring Israeli pain over Palestinian gain. He has been — and he remains — the greatest obstacle to peace between our peoples. For as long as he controls the levers of power, no moderate leadership can emerge. To vote for Arafat, like we saw in this Assembly just last week, is to vote against the Palestinian people. When Arafat wins, terrorism wins, and we all lose.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“States Members of this institution that sponsor terrorists and give them shelter are accomplices in the acts of terror themselves. They must be held accountable for their crimes. It is no coincidence that States that sponsor terrorism, like Iran and Syria, are also striving to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Their hostility to freedom and the rule of law puts the very future of humanity in jeopardy. I know that many in this place see Yasser Arafat as the symbol of the Palestinian struggle. Tragically, for his people and for ours, he is one of the world’s icons of terror. In the 10 years since Arafat made a commitment to Israel and the world that he would no longer use terror, 1,126 Israelis have been killed and thousands wounded in 19,000 separate Palestinian terrorist attacks.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“A country that has suffered more than any other from terrorism, we have always understood the danger it poses to democracy and freedom everywhere, even when others refused to see this, and condemned us for our actions. We have always understood that terrorism, no matter what cause it claims to serve, seeks only to destroy, rather than to build. There can be no neutrality in the war against terrorism and there can be no immunity for those who engage in it. Abstaining is not an option. This is not a war of choice. Terrorism will not be eliminated until the world unites against it. Our only choice is to win. Every member of the international community must take concrete and proactive measures to cut off all channels of financial, moral and political support to this common enemy.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Today, it is not only Israel that mourns the loss of its loved ones, including women and children and babies, at the hands of the terrorists. Sadly, we have been joined by peoples from across the globe — from Mombassa to Casablanca and from Moscow to Bali. Even the United Nations, which for so many has been a symbol of peace and goodwill, is not immune. 28 Gathered here today in New York, just two short years after 11 September, the community of nations knows that those who seek to advance their political agendas through killing innocents are ready to strike at anyone or anything that represents the values of freedom and human life. Terrorism has declared war on us all. Israel has often stood alone in this battle.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“That attack was carried out by Hamas, a terrorist organization, which, under the road map, should have been dismantled by the Palestinian Authority. Failure to dismantle Hamas and other extremist organizations has brought our diplomatic efforts to a standstill. Rather than acting to fulfil its obligation, the Palestinian Authority has chosen the route of inaction, and complicity in terror. We cannot allow this to continue. We must restore hope that we can build a better future for our children. The infrastructure of terror must be dismantled so that we can put our peace efforts back on track. There is no time other than now. There is no other way. For many years it was thought that terrorism in the Middle East was Israel’s problem, not the world’s. Today, the world knows otherwise.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“I would like to congratulate His Excellency, the Foreign Minister of Saint Lucia, upon his assumption of the Presidency of the General Assembly, and wish him much success. Until just one month ago, every person in this hall and every Member of this Organization joined us in the hope that the Middle East peace process might finally be back on track, and that a resolution of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict might be on the horizon. The establishment of a new Palestinian Government promised an end to terror and a new beginning. This glimmer of hope was darkened on 19 August by the extremists who blew up a bus full of Jewish families on their way home from prayers at the Western Wall, the holiest site in the Jewish religion. Twenty- three people, young and old, mothers and babies in their cradles, were slaughtered in that attack.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)